Team USA Minnesota Athletes Coaching In Twin Cities High Schools

Five Team USA Minnesota distance runners, including Olympian Carrie Tollefson, are giving their time and talents to Twin Cities area high school cross country teams this fall by serving as head or assistant coaches

Oct 27, 2006

Five Team USA Minnesota distance runners, including Olympian Carrie Tollefson, are giving their time and talents to Twin Cities area high school cross country teams this fall by serving as head or assistant coaches. The athletes are coaching in addition to their own training, competing and other jobs as a way to share their experiences with younger runners and help them reach their goals. The other athlete.coaches are Jason Lehmkuhle, Chris Lundstrom, Matt Gabrielson, and Kristen Nicolini. The Minnesota high school cross country season ends with the state meet on November 4.

Chris Lundstrom, who placed fourth at the USA Marathon Championships on October 1, is the head cross country coach for boys and girls at St. Paul's Como Park HIgh School. This is Lundstrom's second year at Como Park, where he is also the head Nordic ski coach and assistant track and field coach. "I love the sport of distance running, so coaching is a way to share that," he said. "My goal as a coach is largely to increase participation and enjoyment of the sport so that team members gain an appreciation for running and continue doing it long after high school. I encourage the runners to compete with themselves first and worry about other teams and other runners only secondarily. I enjoy seeing the transition from the beginning of the cross country season, when first time runners say 'two miles? That's too far' to the end of the season, when they say, 'three miles? That's all?' I also enjoy watching the personal growth that happens and the love of the team and sport that develops." Lundstrom is also a writer and teaches at the University of Minnesota.

Jason Lehmkuhle and Matt Gabrielson are both assistant boys cross country and track coaches at Edina High School, where they work with kids in 7th through 12th grade. "When I was approached about helping out at Edina a couple of years ago, I was initially tentative," said Lehmkuhle, who is also a graphic designer. "With my own competitive experience, I feel like I have a reasonably wide base of knowledge about the sport. However, I've never really seen myself as a coach. Understanding some of the science of running, or even being a good runner yourself, doesn't necessarily make you a good coach. After a few seasons now at Edina though, I've thoroughly enjoyed working with the kids and I'd like to think I've helped a little. I've probably learned as much from the kids as they've learned from me. I've also been lucky to be part of a successful program with some really talented kids and an incredibly organized and knowledgeable head coach."

In an interview for the www.mensracing.com web site, Gabrielson - who has a degree in elementary education - talked about his coaching work with middle-school kids. "I specifically focused on that age," he said. "We won a lot of races this year with the middle school kids so it's pretty fun. It's interesting to see how they go about things. The kids have shown me some things that I have forgotten to remember about running and that's that you can have fun with it. You don't always have to be so serious. It's been good for me because I've been able to step back and see what's really important about running. I also think the kids are lucky because they see from Jason and I that there are opportunities to run professionally. They see that there is a level where you can run beyond college. One of the eighth graders said to me the other day, 'I'm going to just keep running for awhile so that I can be sponsored by Reebok.'"

Kristen Nicolini is an assistant cross country coach for the Edina High School girls team for grades 7-12. With her work schedule at a chiropractic office, she is only able to go to practice three days a week but makes sure she goes to all the meets. "This cross country season has been very enjoyable for me," said Nicolini. "My sophomore year of high school (in Maryland) we started the cross country season with five girls, just enough to field a team. To my surprise the Edina team consists of 80 girls! At first I wondered how I would keep everyone straight but after the first couple of weeks I knew just about everyone and how they contributed to the team."

Olympian and three-time national champion (1500 meters, 3000 meters and 4k cross country) Carrie Tollefson is an assistant cross country coach at Blake High School. "I am very inspired to see their love of the sport and share the excitement I have for running as well," said Tollefson, who in addition to continuing to train and compete is also working as a broadcaster. When Tollefson was in high school at Lac Qui Parle Valley/Dawson Boyd in Minnesota, she won five state cross country titles, which is a national prep record.

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